Man gets 54 months for striking, killing pedestrian

EDWARDSVILLE — A judge Tuesday sentenced a Madison man to 54 months in prison for driving his car into a pedestrian, killing him.

Travis E. Crain, 24, was sentenced after the victim’s sister accused him on the witness stand of driving drunk, hitting victim, Mark S. Harris, 25, of St. Louis, then leaving the scene to avoid a driving under the influence charge.

“He was driving drunk. We all have the right to walk down the street and not have somebody cold and callously drive into you. He didn’t turn himself in. He ran because he knew he was drunk,” said Carleta Harris. Harris noted that Crain admitted to police that he had been drinking but was not charged with drunk driving.

She acknowledged the death was accidental, but the fact that Crain ran from the scene makes the crime more serious. “It was your actions after the accident that shows you are a coward,” Harris said on the witness stand Tuesday. She said her brother was a good man, who will be missed by his loved ones.

Assistant State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe argued that, had Crain remained at the scene and dialed 911, perhaps Harris’ life could have been save.

“He was 25 years old and had a full life ahead of him. We don’t know what would have happened if he and stayed and dialed 911, but he left the victim on the side of the road to die,” Uhe said.

After the hearing, Uhe said the state could provide evidence that Crain had been drinking, but there was no proof he was under the influence of alcohol because he left the scene and was not arrested until two days after the accident.

She told Associate Judge Jennifer Hightower that, had Crain “done the right thing,” he would have stayed at the scene and would have been charged with driving under the influence involving death.

Police were called to the scene of the accident 7:46 a.m. April 19, 2015, in the 2500 block of Edwardsville Road, Granite City, where they found Harris’ body.

Police determined Harris was a hit-and-run victim and used surveillance video to identify the suspected offending vehicle, a 2004 silver Dodge Dakota.

Records showed that Crain was the owner. Authorities allege Crain was driving after 3 a.m., when he hit Harris, who was walking along Edwardsville Road. The Granite City Police Department posted video of the suspected vehicle on its Facebook page, hoping to receive information from the public. It took two days to find the vehicle and Crain.

Uhe told the judge Tuesday that Crain was speeding, texting and eating when the accident occurred.

The leaving the scene charge is punishable by a sentence up to 15 years in prison, but the state put a cap of eight years on the sentence in exchange for Crain’s guilty plea. Uhe asked for the maximum under the agreement. Crain will get credit for 379 days in the Madison County Jail. He may get a day off for every “good” day he serves.

The leaving the scene charge could have resulted in a sentence of probation. Uhe argued that probation would deprecate the seriousness of the crime. Had Crain stayed at the scene and found to be under the influence, she said, he would have been charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death, for which probation is not available.

Defense attorney Jim Stern argued for probation. He said his client has no prior criminal history and has been a model prisoner at the Madison County Jail. He said the charge to which Crain pleaded “presumes probation” unless extraordinary circumstances are involved.

Crain gave a formal statement apologizing for what he did and said he will pray for the victim. Stern said his client panicked after hitting Harris. “He did not set out to do anything wrong,” Stern said.